Top Five Six Most Common Comic Book Artist Medical Errors

June 27th, 2006

Filed under: Comics, Medicine

When reviewing comic books from a medical standpoint, certain errors crop up time and time again. Some of these errors can be blamed on the artist, and some the writer. Today, I’ll look at the five most common artistic medical errors in comic books (and I threw in a sixth one for good measure).

    1. Oxygen Tubing
    Incorrectly drawn nasal canula
  • I’ve talked about this one many times before. Nasal canulas have a specific look to them, and are not just tubes shoved up a nose. They’re terribly uncomfortable, but a great deal easier to use than the one-sided monstrosities most artists like to draw.
  • Oxygen masks should not look like something that a fighter pilot would wear. If it has that Top Gun look, it’s wrong.
    2. IVs
    Two IV lines in the same site

  • Intravenous lines work by gravity, so they should be above the patient and there shouldn’t be long dangling lines.
  • The most common places for IVs are the antecubital fossa (the inside of the elbow), the forearm, and the back of the hand.
    Never draw two needles going into the same IV site.
  • With the exception of significant trauma or major surgery, blood transfusions are rare. So colorists, please put away the red marker.
    Casts
    Cast worn incorrectly and immobilizing nothing

  • Casts are used to protect an injured bone and to immobilize joints.
  • Casts should go under the clothes, not over as in this Birds of Prey cover — and one close inspection, that cast isn’t doing any immobilization either.
  • (And let’s not forget Wildcat, who can not only change into his costume in mere seconds while fighting the Injustice Society, but manages to slip the costume on under his cast as well.)
    Electrodes
    Electrodes on the clothes

  • Cardiac electrodes should go on the chest, not the abdomen. EEG electrodes go on the scalp.
  • Electrodes are pretty streamlined now and not very bulky.
  • And for heaven’s sake, electrodes go on the skin and not the clothes.
    Heart Monitors
    A couple of extra deflections on a heart tracing, and the wide QRS doesn't look good

  • Cardiac rhythm strips should have a definite pattern to them. Each up or down line has a specific meaning, and it shouldn’t just be a jumbled collection of lines. I’m willing to cut some slack for patients whose hearts are failing, like Vicki Vale in the recent All-Star Batman and Robin #4, but not healthy patients as in this example from Daredevil.
    Eye Protection
    No eye protection

  • Any surgeon and anyone working a trauma case in the ER will be wearing eye protection. For one thing, it’s an OSHA regulation, and the hospital can face a stiff fine. More importantly, it’s common sense. Anybody who has worked in medicine for a few years can relate a story of a splash of blood (or other less pleasant bodily fluids) to the face.

5 Responses to “ Top Five Six Most Common Comic Book Artist Medical Errors ”

  1. Carl Fink
    June 28th, 2006 at 10:10 am

    Casts always immobilize joints? Say I fractured both my radius and ulna–would the cast have to immobilize the wrist and elbow, or just stabilize the actual fracture site? Or would they just put in a titanium plate, these days?

  2. Scott
    June 28th, 2006 at 10:19 am
    Official Comment

    Depends on where you fractured them, and how badly they were fractured. A simple fracture just past the wrist would be a short cast. A fracture close to the elbow would get a whole arm cast. A comminuted fracture would require plates and screws, while a simple fracture should not.

  3. DrObviousSo
    June 28th, 2006 at 11:14 am

    Can we expect a part 2 of writers’ errors?

  4. Nala
    June 28th, 2006 at 12:06 pm

    Wildcat is so kickass that he can wear his cast in any way he likes! :-)

  5. Scott
    June 28th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
    Official Comment

    I’ll post Part 2: Writer’s Errors tonight.

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